Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty to charges related to a hate crime he allegedly staged in Chicago in January 2019.
The indictment released on Monday includes six charges accusing Smollett of staging the incident and reporting a fake hate crime to police in order to gain media attention and help further his career, according to NBC News.
Smollett was arrested on Feb. 21, 2019, on similar charges, but the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped them about a month later.
Smollett, 37, has maintained his innocence throughout.
After the original charges were dropped, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson slammed Smollett and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in a news conference.
“I’m offended by what has happened, and I’m also angry. I love the city of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department, warts and all. But this publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn’t earn and certainly didn’t deserve,” Johnson said in February of last year. “When that didn’t work, Smollett paid $3,500 to stage this attack and drag Chicago’s reputation through the mud in the process.”
Smollett’s alleged accomplices, brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, are expected to be key witnesses in the case. The Osundairo brothers, who Smollett alleged to have attacked him, have also been charged in the alleged hate crime hoax. The brothers were never charged with actually attacking Smollett.
